Facing tape for venetian blinds



Jan. 18, 1938. R. H. WHITE ET AL 2,105,937

FACING TAPE FOR VENETIAN BLINDS Filed April 5, 1937 I i I I I I I IPatented Jan. 18 1938 amass:

FACING TAPE FOB vsnn'rmn nnmns Ralph awaits and Donald J, McNevin, cm-

eag o, Ill.

Application April 5, 1931 L clflims ilc 1'7) Venetian blinds have nowbeen developed to a statewhere they are very satisfactory but there isstill one very annoying feature in connection with them. This is thesoiling of the ladder tapes which support the slats in properly spacedrelationship and tilt the slats. It is of course very diflicult, if notimpossible, toclean'the tapes satisfactorily on the blind, and to removeand replace them practically amounts to rebuilding the blind.

' The dimculty of replacing the tape has also been a handicap in theevent of redecoi'ating the rooms in which the blinds are located since atape of a color' chosen to go with one color scheme often will not besatisfactory with' a diiferent c010" scheme. I

The main object of the present invention is to overcome the abovementioned difficulties. Thisl'is done by providlng a. facing tape which0 may easily be secured to the original ladder tape to conceal the sameand give the appearance of an entirely new ladder tape. 7

Further objects and advantages of the invention will appearas thedescription is read in connection with the accompanying drawing, in

which:

Fig. 1 is a face view of a Venetian blind embodying one form of facingtape of the present invention, one tape being partially broken away toshow the original ladder tape therebelow.

Fig. 2 is a. fragmentary vertical sectional view showing the applicationof the facing tape to the ladder tape.

Fig. 3 is a fragmentary front viewcorresponding to Fig. 2. I

Fig.4 is a horizontal sectional view taken-on the line 4-4 of Fig. 2.Fig. 5 is a fragmentary perspective view showing one form of attachmentof the fastener clip to the facing tape, and m Fig. 6 is a similarviewshowing modifications in the clip and its manner of attachment. Althoughthis invention may take numerous forms, only two have been chosen forillustration. These have been illustrated in connection with a Venetianblind formed mainly of slots ll supported by conventional ladder tapesl2. As is well known, the ladder tapes 12 are secured at their tops tosome manipulating structure 5 such as a tilt bar l3 which may be tiltedin'either direction by the tilting cord H. The ladder tapes includecross tapes l5 which give the ladder tape its name and on which theslats rest, these cross tapes being woven into or sewn to the ver- 55tical tapes of the ladder tapes at positions spaced according to thespacingofthe slats desired. qThe. lower ends of the laddertapesxllarepsecured' to a'bottombar I. 'Some means for; raising. andlowering the slats is usually provided, and. in the illustratedform thiscomprises a raising I rope I! secured to the bottomrail I6 and-extending upwardly through the blind in a.position concealed by eachladder tape and over pulleys ill to a positionof convenient access nearone side of'the window frame 19 in which the 10 blind is positioned. IVenetian blinds are expected to last for years and will do so, but inthecourse of a yearor two the ladder tapes I! are likely to become very.dirty and unsightly inzappearance- Although IB the slats ll may becleaned with relative ease, the ladder tapes l2 cannot be cleanedsaunas. torily on the blind and. it e is evident that their. removalamounts to almost complete disassembly of the blind. According to thepresent inven- 20 tion a facing tape 20 is provided which may ,be soldbythe, yard and which may readily be applied over the original laddertape to concealthe same and present as satisfactory an appearance as ifa new ladder tape were provided. Such a 25 facing tape is preferablyslightly wi'derthan the original ladder tape, as seen. best in Figs. 3and 4.", Since the conventional ladder tapesare inches wide, the facingtapesmay be 1% inches wide. Almost any type of securing means 'may beused for securing the faclng'tape' 20 to the ladder tape or directly tothe slats of the blind if preferred, but in either case the securingmeans should be concealed and should be .of' a form 35 whichpwill notunduly injure the ladder tape or the slat. In the illustrated form clips2| are used which maybe either permanently or de tachably secured to thefacingftape '20 at regular intervals and include finger portions 22designed to hook around the sides of the ladder tape I2 and engageitwith sufficient firmness to hold theiacing tape in place. It will beevident that the hook-like fingers 22 may be sub- 'stantially rigid andof the shape shown or they may be of a more resilient nature, in whichcase they should tend to press againstthe bodyv portion of the clip 2|.Likewise; the fingers'122 could be in the-form of prongs of a softermetal to bdoubleii. ever by hand in-application of the facing strip 28to the ladder tape l2. Fig.6 illustrates a flat ribbon 2| having fingerportions '2l.whlch can be bent over at the position of the dotted linesto clamp around the edges of the ladder tape. Of course, instead ofhooking around the edges of the ladder tape I! the nngers 22 or 24 couldpierce the ladder tape if preferred. The illustrated form of clip ispreas seen in Fig. 5, being mainly on the'back side ferred because itis-not only easily attached to the ladder tape but is easily removedwhen it is desired to replace the first facing tape with a new facingtape. Although a wire clip has been used, it could be formed of a flatribbon with the same advantages.

The clips 2| may be secured to the facing tape in any unobtrusivemanner. According to the embodiment illustrated in Figs. 4 and 5 loops23 are provided, which may be formed by a pair of extra cords or heavythreads 25 through which the clip 2| extends. Such a cord or heavythread may extend. longitudinally of the facing tape 20 thereof so as tobe unobtrusive; Thesmallloops 26 which extend to the'front of thetapeare preferably so positioned as to blend'with the orna- 'mental design2l. The loops are preferably long enough topermit the clips 2| to beinserted therein at will and removed easily to facilitate cleaningthefaclng tape i2. f The loops 2. are p of-a self-locking nature toprevent the .cordor thread 25 from being'pulledout. .Of'course, entirelyindependent stitches could be used for each clip 2| if preferred.

- Instead of the threadorcord 1oops,,tape loops may be provided-bystitching a wide band or two widely separated relatively narrow bands oitape on'the back side of the facing tape,- the stitches ofcoursebeingomittedat the position of the loop.- The clips 2| maybe passed throughthe various securing loops after these loops'are com, pleted or theloopsmay bewoven orstitched in the facing tape 20around the clip-2| properlyplaced on the facing tape 20. This-hasbeen il- 2| beforethe facing tapeis appliedto the ladder tape. In the case of the upper end of the fee-'-ing tape the doubled over end portion 21 maybe left upstanding topartially conceal the raising cord and"the'securing tacks at the upperend of ladder tape l2, thus presenting a neater appearance than 1 didthe original ladder tape. Likewise, the lower end of the facing tape 20may present a heater appearance than the original ladder tape bybeing'extended entirely around under the bottom rail 6, thus concealingthe ends of the original ladder tape; -In this event the facing tape 20will be hooked to the far side of the ladderitape i2 approximatelyadjacent the ':bot-- tom rail l6 as shown in Fig. 2', its end beingfolded in as in the case of the upper end portion 21.

Fromthe foregoing it is seen that a facing tape is provided' which is soreadily applied to the ladder tape of 'conventional blinds that thereisv no longer any need toflhave dirty ladder, tapes exposed'orto changethe ladder tape when the 'color scheme of the room in-which the Venetianblind is located is changed.

Thedisclosures of this application areillustrative and the invention isnot 'to be limited by them. In fact, if modifications or improvementsare not at once obvious, they may be deornamental design thereon so asabove the tilt rail to conceal a vised in the course of time to makeadditional use of the broad ideas taught and covered by thisapplication. The claims are intended to point out novel features and notto limit the invention except as may be requiredby prior art. I

We claim:

i. In combination with the ladder tape of a Venetian blind, a facingtape having a width at least as great as the width of the ladder tape, aseries of loopson the backside of the facing tape. and fastening meanssecured to the facing tape by the loops and having fingers securing thefacing tape to the ladder tape whereby the facing tape completelyconceals the ladder tape from normal view.

2.In'combination' with the ladder tape of a Venetian blind, a facingtape secured thereto by detachable securing means, the facing tape beingsufllciently wide to substantially conceal the ladder tape and thesecuring means from normal view.

3. A facing tape for applicationto atvenetian blind ladder tape havingloops on the back side thereof and fastening. means secured to the facing tape by theloops and adapted tosecure the facing tape to a laddertape, the fastening means being substantially invisible from the frontof the facing tape v 4. Incombination with the ladder tape of a Venetianblind, a facing tapehaving an orna-v mental front face and of a width atleast'jas great as the width of theladder tape and fastening meansforreadily fastening the facing tape to the ladder tape with readydetachability secured to the facing tape-by means blendingwith the I tobe substan tially unnoticeable.

5. A facing tape for Venetian blind ladder tapes including an extensivelength of tape adapted to have desired lengths of tape cut therefrom andhaving fastening means secured on its back side at close intervals. byloops and adapted to secure the facing tape readily to a ladder tape,the fastening means being adapted to also vsecure the cut end of thetape in a folded-under position. v 6. The combination of a Venetianblind including. a tilt rail, a ladder tape secured thereto in exposedposition, a plurality. of slats supported by the ladder tape, and afacing tape secured to the ladder. tape in a readily detachable mannerby concealed securing means, the facing tapeextending above the tiltrail to conceal the point of attachment of the. ladder tape to the tiltrail. '7. A Venetian blind including a head bar, a tilt rail therebelow,tape means secured to the tilt rail, a plurality of slats supported bythe tape means, and-a raising cord extending from the head structuredown through the tilt rail and slats, the tape means extendingvfreelyupwardly portion of the 'raising cord thereabove. a

-8. A Yenetian blind including a plurality of slats, a ladder tapenormally supporting the slats in spacedrelationship, tilt means forsupporting and manipulating .the ladder tape, a bottom rail below theslats having the ladder tape secured to the bottom thereof, and a facingtape secured to the ladder tape-on one side of the blind substantiallyconcealingthe ladder tape and extending under and around to the far sideof the bottom rail to conceal the points cit-securing tape to the bottomrail- RALPH H. WHITE.

DONALD J. McNEVIN,

the ladder

